New video! Plus why I am a terrible blogger.

Why hello friends!

As you might have noticed, last week I was a very very bad blogger. Not only did I not upload a new video last monday I also neglected to do a blog post on Monday OR Friday. Well I know this will sound like a terrible excuse but I was busy...shopping. I had to make the trek downtown and shop for a birthday present in an area I never go. So by the time I made it home I was exhausted and the daylight had run out. That's my excuse for monday at least, for friday I have none. Just got lazy. I am always running really thin on idea's and since my life has been quite sedate lately I don't have anything new or exciting to share with you all.

But I am back. I decided that today I would film a video that has been in the back of mind for some time now. Ever since I started my channel I wanted to do a baking tutorial on one of my favorite recipes: Cranberry Scones! So here's the newest video.

I really hope you all enjoy this video. It was quite a task to film but ultimately totally worth it. I love to bake and am always excited to share recipes and learn new techniques. Make sure to show me some love on my channel and let me know if you tried out my recipe.

Well that is all for now, and I hope to talk to you soon. But until then have an amazing evening!

B

Nicholas Sparks: The Best of Me book review

Are you there friends, its me Brandon.

So as most days go, my plans for my time off didn't go quite as planned. Once I got home from work I crawled in bed and napped for hours, throwing off my schedule for the day. I was hoping to have this blog post up for you guys sooner in the day but thats life for you.

Today I wanted to share with you a review of a book I just finished reading by Nicolas Sparks called The best of Me. Now I have never done a book review on my blog or youtube channel, but I am quite an avid reader. So I am really excited to start sharing some of the books that I love, so to start I wanted to share what I've read most recently.

I picked up this book at Target the other day, and in less than a day and a half I finished it. It is not a particularly long book, 291 pages in the Trade Paperback format, nor is it a difficult read. This is the very first book I have read from Nicholas Sparks, though I have seen the film versions of a few of his novels. I was in the mood for what I call a "bleeding heart" novel and since his books were on sale I picked up the first one that sounded interesting.

So on with the review!

This book is a love story (obviously) and it centers around two characters, Dawson and Amanda. In their teenage years these kids from different sides of the tracks share a spark that is wildly apposed by their families and soon are forced asunder. Fast forward 20 years Dawson and Amanda have led very different lives. While Amanda married and started a family, Dawson never forgot his undying love for Amanda and steadfastly armored his heart against falling in love. The death of their mutual friend Tuck draws them back to their hometown and sets in motion events that neither the two would ever imagine. While Amanda and Dawson are happy to be reunited once again, their relationship stays friendly and cordial. But Tuck has other things in mind and has left some requests to be fulfilled by his two closest friends, which will reignite the flame they shared two decades ago. But a sinister plot by an old family member threatens to demolish it all.

This novel employes a shared narrative. It switches back and forth between the characters involved, which tends to get quite confusing. I found myself backtracking to figure out who was feeling what, or who was making an observation. The chapter length was reasonable and the author used plenty of line breaks to signify changes in the scene or sometimes who was narrating. From the start I could tell Sparks was building a house of cards. Each situation was presented to you then assembled into a solid structure. And as the book went on the house got bigger and bigger until the inevitable end where it all comes crashing down. In this case though the cards all fell right into place and no question went unanswered.

Overall this book kept my attention and was written by someone who knows how to tell a story. Though the characters aren't particularly sophisticated they aren't outwardly shallow either. The end of this book settled with an iron clad finality that didn't leave you wanting more. In fact Sparks left you with a feeling that any more to the book would have been unnecessary. In the end I would give this book 4 out of 5 stars. It is a great novel and would occupy your time quite nicely on a weekend trip. I would have liked a more liner narration and perhaps less predictability. Yet it is a book I am happy to have purchased and read, and will suggest it to my friends.



Well I hope you enjoyed this book review. I bet it felt like you were almost reading a whole book on here huh? I love reading and talking about books so much. So please let me know in the comments below if you would like to see more book reviews in the future, because I would be happy to post them. Also if you have any book suggestions I would love to hear them.

Don't forget to check out my most recent video on my channel if you missed it. I did a thrifty haul video. You can find it at bit.ly/bvcrafts1

If you are interested in buying this book here is the link to it on amazon (where it is cheaper than at target apparently)
amzn.to/1tj9ibV 

And until next time, have an amazing evening!    
B

Thrifty Shopping + New Haul Video

Are you there friends, its me Brandon.

So these past two weeks I have been doing a little more retail therapy than usual. It seems that every time I go out I have been finding some really good deals! And if you know me just a little you know that I can rarely pass up a good deal; especially on a product that meets my expectations or needs. Lately it seems that so many things I really enjoy have been either marked down or on killer sales. So after a few trips to some of my usual haunts I decided to film a haul video! Now I tried my best to mention how much everything cost or what it was on sale for. If I forgot something and you are interested in knowing a little more about, please let me know! So without further delay, here is the video.

I have been really hesitant to film haul video's on my channel because I really don't want to sound like I am bragging. And I just want to make it clear that I am in absolutely no way trying to flaunt my purchases. If you guys are like me, haul videos are inspiration and educational. I find that I discover a lot of new and exciting things through these types of videos and hope that you feel the same way. If this type of video is not something you would like to see on my channel please let me know by suggesting new video's for me to film.

Well that is all for now. I do hope you enjoy the video and if you purchase any of these items based on this please let me know! I would love to hear from you guys. It has been quite lonely on my channel lately....

Don't forget to subscribe, like, and comment. I am also really active on instagram so take a look over there if that suits your fancy, I am @bvcrafts1

So until next time, have an amazing day and I will talk to you all very soon! 

Brandon

Hobonichi Techo 2015 Order and first impressions!

Are you there friends, its me Brandon.

So as you guys might remember I promised to upload a new blog post every Monday and Friday, and have been keeping to my promise ever since. So I didn't want to let you down today even though I am feeling quite un-inspired. Plus I didn't plan ahead on what my post was going to be about. So I thought I would share a little more about my recent order from Hobonichi.

I know that a lot of you might not know what a Hobonichi is, so first I wanted to explain what they are. Essentially they are a daily journal where you can write and sketch things about your day or what not. You can also use them to plan your month and keep track of appointments. In addition to the journal you can purchase journal covers, which come in a variety of styles and colors. They come in A5 and A6 size.

Since the journals are designed to be used from the beginning of the year every day throughout I decided to buy a blank journal so I could start using it as soon as I got it. I did an unboxing video for you guys so you can see exactly what I bought.

I have been using my new journal a little bit here and there and am really enjoying it. If you guys are interested in seeing how I am using my journal please let me know in the comments section.

Well I hope you guys have a good night, and let me know what you thought of the video. Don't forget to like, subscribe, and comment on my youtube channel. And I am pretty active on instagram as well @bvcrafts1.

And until next time, have an amazing day!

Brandon